Moon setting over Cathedral Rock in Sedona

Even though it was full almost two days ago the waning gibbous “Supermoon” (Wikipedia; NASA) was still 98% illuminated this morning. I used “The Photographers Ephemeris” to find the perfect location — as well as a backup site — to get this sequence of images. Good thing, too, since my prime location was gated and locked!

Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona. (0554 MST 07 May 2012)
Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona (0554 MST 07 May 2012). First light is just touching the top of the rock.
Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona. (0604 MST 07 May 2012)
Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona (0604 MST 07 May 2012). The rock is now fully illuminated by the rising sun.
Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona. (0611 MST 07 May 2012)
Moon over Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona (0611 MST 07 May 2012).

The first image shows the moon above Cathedral Rock (0554 MST) in Sedona, Arizona. It then slides down and to the right appearing again in the V-shaped notch (0604 MST) and then finally in the lowest portion of the gap (0611 MST). The sky was brightening rapidly so that in the final image the moon is almost overwhelmed by the sky.

Afterwards we hiked up the trail to the saddle in Cathedral Rock — where the moon had set less than an hour earlier.